Hey there, Unhinged listeners and followers. I know it’s been a while since we’ve put out a show. We went on hiatus at the end of March when Doug’s DBS battery needed replacing. His mood dropped as the battery was dying, and unfortunately, it has not yet returned to comfortable levels after the surgery. Doug is still struggling for relief, and recently had the intensity of his DBS increased slightly in hopes of helping it kick in again.

We’re still waiting for his mood to increase. I have high hopes that it will improve in the coming weeks. Until then, we won’t be recording any shows to give Doug time to relax and heal. Any words of encouragement and hope are very much appreciated.

Hello listeners! While we are on a break, it’s the perfect time to to catch up on our past 41 episodes. We even made it easy for you and have a full episode playlist right here on our site. So just put on your headphones, start at any episode, and enjoy!

Today I’ll be meeting with Dr. Peter Giacobbe, of the Neuroscience clinic at Toronto Western Hospital, for my post-surgery check-in and possible adjustments​ to the neuromodulator.

I’m hoping with everything I’ve got that the DBS, with the current settings, will resume working as it had done for over 3 months prior to the battery running low. It was by far the best quality remission (out of 3 total) that I’ve had to date.

UPDATE: After Doug’s DBS battery-replacement surgery on March 27th, he started feeling better almost immediately. However, as we all know how unpredictable the brain can be, his mood has dropped significantly since then. We’ve seen this before, and as disheartening as it is right now, I truly believe it will turn around again and we can continue with his remission and recovery.

Hi Unhinged listeners! Just letting you know that Doug goes into surgery this morning to change his DBS neurostimulator battery. The unfortunate timing of his current battery losing its juice has definitely derailed his mood. We’re hoping that once it gets replaced, the DBS can do its thing and Doug can get back on track with his remission and his life!

The podcast is still on hiatus until things settle down after the surgery. For now, let’s all send Doug best wishes for a quick recovery! Maybe even post a joke to get things started on a positive note 🙂

Hello Unhinged listeners! As you may know, Doug has been on the longest remission of his life and things have been really good until the battery on his DBS started to get low. When this happens, the battery needs to be replaced surgically. Unfortunately, the doctor that does the surgery is out until March 20th, and Doug’s surgery is scheduled for March 27th.

That’s about two weeks away, and a lot can happen in two weeks. Doug’s mood has not been as high as it was when the battery was solid, and as the battery gets weaker, there’s a chance he could relapse (this happened years ago during his first real remission).

Due to this situation, we feel that the quality of any show we do right now would not be up to par, plus talking about all this could bring him down a bit, so we feel it is necessary to take a little break until after he gets the battery replacement surgery.

We have a lot of great things planned for future shows, but we first want to make sure that the surgery goes smoothly and that the remission continues so that we can get back on track in a very positive way.

In the meantime, take this time to catch up on some of our previous episodes if you have not listened to all of them yet. We’re also both still online and will answer emails and posts on our Facebook page. We’re not going away! We’re just making sure Doug stays healthy, and the podcast content quality remains high.

Our discoveries and advances in understanding the brain – we are making real strides right now.

We need to treat & refer to serious Mental Illnesses, including Schizophrenia, Bipolar & Depression, not as behavioral or mental disorders, but as brain disorders; Neuropsychiatric disorders.

*Don’t miss Show #41 on March 7th as Ed Caggiani and I will be discussing at length about the magic of Music and its effects on the brain, but we will also elaborate some more on brain functioning as it relates to mental illnesses. I believe this is crucial in order to focus on issues like diagnosis, early detection and treatment, above perception and stigma. Stigma will die at the hands of Science & Progress!

Hello Unhinged listeners! Due to Ed traveling this week, we won’t have a show ready this coming Tuesday. So our next show will be released on Tuesday, March 7th. It’ll be worth it! What will we talk about? Music!

Music is powerful. The lyrics, the melody, and the instrumentation all play a part in shifting mood and emotion. We are affected on a unique and personal level. What makes us cry? What makes us happy? What songs do we avoid? Join us as we dissect what songs affect us, and how.

Hello Unhinged listeners! Just letting you know that due to Ed’s travel schedule and Doug’s work at the Mood Disorders Association, we have not been able to fully plan this week’s show. We have a great topic, but want to give it the time it deserves. We look forward to the show next week, and we think you’ll enjoy what’s coming!

And by the way, Friday will mark Doug’s 3-months of remission, which ties his record! Go Doug!

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Unhinged: Talking Mental

We will attempt to publish one audio podcast episode per week. Each episode is roughly around 30-40 minutes in length and published as an mp3 file on this site and on other podcast sources (iTunes, Google Play, etc.)